Atlanta superintendent seeks answers

November 21, 2012

ATLANTA - Atlanta Community Schools Superintendent Don Haskin Jr. began a process to reinvent the district's name in an attempt to bring students back to Atlanta.

In November, he sent letters to the families of former Atlanta students asking why they decided to leave the school district. During this month's board of education meeting, he said the process is about tracking the students who have left while asking for constructive criticism to better serve the community.

"We got three back so far," he said. "One said they left for personal reasons, one for a preferred high school and one moved."

The letters Haskin sent stated, "at a recent board meeting, community members asked, 'why are we losing kids? Has anyone asked why?'" He directly confronted an issue residents were curious about and is affecting the school budget.

Then, he asked for responses on why students left Atlanta. Four choices were available: we moved, the lawsuit against the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District, lack of class in the high school, or other a blank fill-in answer.

Haskin said the letters were sent to build a better school, and he is hoping to have students return to Atlanta.